


The Last Piece

by allixiler



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allixiler/pseuds/allixiler
Summary: Rafael's life has always missed one thing...you.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Reader, Rafael Barba/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	The Last Piece

He had almost given up in all honesty. Day after day went by, and he didn’t feel any closer to you becoming his forever. Every hour, minute, and second of every day he longed for you. He wished upon every star and silently begged to God that your souls would intersect. His heart beat for you. His heart longed for you. His heart loved you.

But he just couldn’t seem to get that in return. 

Over the years, as your friendship blossomed, so did his admiration for you. He seemed to fall more and more in love with you with every moment of his life that passed him by. Suddenly, you were the source of his every other thought. When he picked up his coffee order at his favorite shop every morning, he recalled your preferred brew of coffee. When he had time to go on a morning run through Central Park, he thought about how you always adored the beauty of the vegetation and man-made nature. 

The longer time went on, however, the more discouraged he felt. He had seen guy after guy enter and exit your life; none of them being the right match for you. He saw the way they didn’t treat you the way you deserved to be. He listened to your disappointment every time a relationship didn’t work out.

It always seemed that you had a new excuse whenever it didn’t work out. It was always “Well, he’s nice but...” or “I just didn’t feel a connection anymore”, but yet you still found yourself in these dead end relationships.

Whenever you came to him after an abrupt end to a relationship, he wanted nothing more than to blurt out how he loved you. How he wanted to spend every spare second of his life with you. He always offered his shoulder for you to cry on, because he’d always be there for you.

He would lie awake most nights, positively exhausted from work but far from sleep, and think about you. He hated how he was letting his life pass him by like this. If he really wanted to, he could go out and find a woman that he cared about. They could get married and have a family, and live a content life. But he knew that wouldn’t be fair.

Because he’d never truly love anyone the way he loved you.

He was beginning to fear that he’d never settle down. No one would ever satisfy him...if they weren’t you. That was his least favorite thing about love. It was the most confusing, draining thing on the planet. He often wondered if it was worth waiting. Should he just accept something that would never be and just carry on through life, always missing the most important piece of his life’s puzzle? When his time came, would he regret waiting around for you, or regret that it never came to be? 

Despite all these burning questions, he still valued the relationship you did have. He liked grabbing a nightcap with you or having dinner after a long day. He enjoyed your presence wholeheartedly. He just wanted there to be something more to it. 

He was shocked when he heard a knock on his office door on a seemingly normal Tuesday night. It was well into the night now, Carmen had left hours ago along with everyone else in the building. Rafael wasn’t ready to go home just yet. At least if he was here, he had his work to keep him silent company. 

His head shot up when he heard the soft rapping on his door. He paused his progress on the paperwork he had been working on. He got up from his seat, his right brow quirked as to who was paying him a visit. Maybe Liv had gotten a piece of evidence in their current case, or maybe Carisi was coming to ask questions about the LSAT. His question was answered when he turned the knob to reveal you standing at his door. 

His heart did a surprised leap. He wasn’t expecting you at all.

“[Y/N]?” He wondered out loud; “What are you doing here so late?”

He noted that you were absolutely drenched in rainwater. He had been so submerged in work that he didn’t realize that it had been raining for at least thirty minutes or so. He could see that your eyes were puffy and red, like you had been crying. 

He unfroze himself and pulled you into his office, closing the door behind you. He took your wet jacket off, ignoring the puddles that were currently seeping into his carpet. He was worried immensely. It wasn’t like you to come to him so late, at his office by any means. Something was up.

“How did you...” He began to ask how you got into the building so late, but he decided he probably didn’t want to know; “Is everything okay?” He asked instead.

You nodded with a smile and a soft laugh, yet a sniffle was audible. Either you were having a huge emotional reaction to something, or you had finally lost your mind. He was a little apprehensive to touch you, but he eventually rested a hand on your arm in a soothing way. A fresh set of tears brimmed your eyes and you didn’t even fight them, allowing them to spill down your cheeks. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m great, actually.” You admitted.

While he was relieved that you weren’t in danger or anything, you sure didn’t look fine. He turned his head to the side in a curious kind of way. His eyes narrowed a tad.

“Then why are you crying?” He queried gently, not wanting to push you further. 

He brushed your dripping hair aside, hating the way it was uncomfortably sticking to your skin. That seemed to be the last thing on your mind. 

“I...I don’t really know, because I’m the happiest now that I’ve ever been.” You explained, giving a small laugh again. 

He was so beyond confused. He had no idea what you were talking about.

“Why, what happened?” He pondered, trying to get you to tell him before his heart exploded with anticipation.

You took his hands into yours, he internally winced at how cold the rain had made your skin. He was looking into your eyes. The very same ones that were so beautiful and glittered as if they had stars trapped inside of them. 

“You. You’re what happened.” You confessed.

In that moment, he felt as if time had stopped. The planet stopped spinning and his heart stopped pounding. What did that mean? Had he done something wrong? If he had done something wrong, then why were you claiming to be so happy?

“I don’t understand...” He prompted you to go on.

You let go of his hands, bringing yours to the sides of his face. He felt a rush of cold flutter through him, but he didn’t care. He was loving the way you were looking at him.

“All those others...I couldn’t love them. I tried so hard to. I did everything that I thought I could to make myself fall in love with one of them, but I never could. I was so angry at myself, because I couldn’t figure out why. But then...it just hit me,” You spoke, Rafael’s lungs weren’t taking in any air as he waited for you to continue; “It was always you.”  
The coldness surging through him from your hands converted into a warmth. He was hot all over as his head tried to process what you were saying. His heart, though, got the message much quicker and spoke for him.

“You love me?” He breathed finally.

You nodded again, yet another round of tears flowing from your eyes. His hands were wrapped around your wrists, not letting you remove your hold from his face.

“Undeniably. It’s taken me forever to see. I was so blind to what was right in front of me the whole time,” You described; “You’re the one I’m supposed to love.” 

You knew he loved you. Why else would he be around so much? Why didn’t he ever make an attempt to be with anyone else?

He felt like he was getting smacked with an incomprehensible amount of feelings at once. His heart was soaring for joy, his head was scrambling for what to say, but his lips seemed to have made up their mind. He crashed into yours, passionate and needy kisses were exchanged. He had never imagined in a million years that it would play out this way.

He thought about how every decision he had ever made in his life led him to this moment. If he had made one menial different choice, would this have never happened? Either way, he was glad for whatever choice brought him here. He always thought that he’d eventually come crawling to your doorstep pleading for a chance and begging for a shot at your love.

He never knew that he had it the entire time.

He pulled away first, forehead pressed against yours.

“I love you. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to tell you.” He said, catching his breath.

“I do know. I just hate it took me so long... I just-” You said, feeling a twinge of guilt when he cut you off.

He shook his head, not even caring that the front of his shirt was splotched with water.

“Shh. No, don’t think about that. That doesn’t matter now.” He replied.

You smiled softly, kissing him again. Nothing felt real, but everything felt real at the same time. It was a weird, amazing feeling. You couldn’t pinpoint how this moment felt, other than indescribable bliss.

“Are you saying you want to spend forever with me?” You laughed as he wiped away your tears.

He answered immediately, not missing a beat.

“Forever and more.” 

A new sense of solace was overtaking him now. It was a feeling of pure satisfaction as he felt that last puzzle piece of his life click into place. His picture was finished. He always said that he would know the moment that his life really began.

That moment was now.


End file.
